Maryland men's basketball lands commitment from 5-star Baba Oladotun

Bennett Conlin, The Baltimore Sun on Nov 19, 2025

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BALTIMORE — Maryland men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams earned a win Wednesday, and it didn’t have anything to do with the team’s game against Mount St. Mary’s.

After spending the offseason retooling a roster pillaged in the transfer portal, the Terps’ first-year coach continued his impressive recruiting efforts Wednesday when he landed the commitment of five-star, in-state prospect Baba Oladotun. The 6-foot-10 forward and Silver Spring native announced the news on his YouTube channel.

Oladotun, who turns 17 in December, plays at James Hubert Blake High School in Montgomery County. The talented scorer and athletic defender is the No. 10 recruit in the country, according to 247 Sports. ESPN puts him at No. 8 in its top 100 prospect rankings.

Most major programs recruited Oladotun, who ultimately picked the Terps over Arkansas, Georgetown and Kentucky. Of the four, he said that it then came down to Georgetown and Maryland. While the Hoyas beat the Terps on the court earlier this month, Maryland won the recruiting battle.

Oladotun posted YouTube videos of his recent recruitment, including a 14-minute video highlighting a September visit to College Park that features a brief conversation with new athletic director Jim Smith about Xfinity Center.

“It’s a great place to play,” Smith said. “We’ll make it a greater place to play.”

Smith sounded bullish on Maryland’s basketball future then. Oladotun’s commitment should only strengthen that belief.

Oladotun gives the Terps one of the best 2026 recruiting classes in the country, with the class now growing to four members. It also includes four-star guard Kaden House, four-star forward Adama Tambedou and three-star wing Austin Brown.

Maryland has now added a five-star player in three consecutive recruiting classes with Oladotun joining Derik Queen (2024) and Darius Adams (2025) as elite prospects to pick the Terps over other perennial powers. Queen now plays in the NBA as a rookie with the New Orleans Pelicans, while Adams is in the early stages of his freshman season. Adams is averaging 11.3 points per game through four games.